Minister Borislav Gutsanov announced during a National Working Meeting in Plovdiv that victims of forest and field fires can receive a one-time financial assistance. The aid will be three times the subsistence line, which practically means around 2000 Bulgarian leva.
The application procedure is extremely simplified - interested citizens must submit an application to the respective regional directorate of the Social Assistance Agency. The funds will be provided from the state budget through the Ministry of Labor and Social Policy.
During the working meeting, Minister Gutsanov also presented several key priorities for labor market development. He emphasized that Bulgaria has achieved remarkable results with an unemployment rate of 5.1% in the first half of the year, which ranks it among the leading European countries in this indicator.
Despite the positive trends, Gutsanov identified serious challenges. According to him, wages remain a critically low national priority, with Bulgaria continuing to be among the countries with the lowest labor remunerations in the European Union.
The Minister predicted that the minimum wage will most likely reach around 1200 leva in the next calendar year, while maintaining the current legal provisions in the Labor Code.
Among other highlights in his presentation, Gutsanov placed the demographic crisis as a key national problem. Statistical data show that 24% of the Bulgarian population is over 65 years old, with an average age of 45.3 years.
As a possible solution, the minister presented the "I Choose Bulgaria" program, which aims to attract Bulgarian citizens living outside the country. In parallel, around 50,000 workers from third countries are expected to be attracted to Bulgaria in 2025 to compensate for the personnel shortage.
The government plans to create a special registry to track economically inactive people, with around 200,000 people of working age currently neither working nor receiving education.
In addition, the ministry announced plans to increase assistance for young families and maternity benefits in 2026, after the necessary financial resources are secured through labor market development.